Switch actuating mechanism for chuting



Aug. 30, 1966 J. G. KAY

SWITCH ACTUATING MECHANISM FOR CHUTING 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 19,1965 INVENTOR.

.JO/ /N 6. KAY

A TTOEA/EYS Aug. 30, 1966 G KAY 3,270,155

SWITCH ACTUATING MECHANISM FOR CHUTING Filed Jan. 19, 1965 2Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. JOHN G, KAY

6 u A TTOEA/EYS United States Patent 0 3,270,155 SWITCH ACTUATINGMECHANISM FOR CHUTING John G. Kay, Detroit, Mich., assignor to F. Jos.Lamb Company, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed Jan. 19,1965, Ser. No. 426,597 11 Claims. (Cl. ZOO-61.41)

This invention relates to improvements in switch actuating mechanisms,and refers particularly to such mechanisms for attachment to runwayssuch as gravity chuting along which workpieces travel. In automatedinstallations wherein workpieces travel through chuting from one machineto another during the course of their manufacture their movement isusually controlled by electrically operated gates, escapements and thelike which are so arranged and timed that a few workpieces rest againstthe automatic loader for each machine to insure uninterruptedproduction. However if a breakdown occurs somewhere along the line it isvery desirable that the fiow of workpieces be promptly halted at someconvenient location before they reach the place where the breakdownoccurred. For instance should too many workpieces accumulate on gravitychuting against the automatic loader for a machine the excessivepressure exerted by them might have a tendency to jam the loader andrender it inoperative.

It is an object of this invention to provide a switch actuatingmechanism for attachment to a runway and includes at least one operatingrail over which workpieces traveling along the runway must pass, andwherein the rail remains stationary so long as the total weight ofworkpieces thereon does not exceed a predetermined amount, but when thatamount is exceeded the rail is depressed and imparts movement to aswitch actuating member; and wherein the switch actuating member and theoperation rail return to their normal positions as soon as the weight ofworkpieces upon the latter drops below the predetermined amount.

Other objects of the invention are to provide such a switch actuatingmechanism wherein downward movement of the operating rail or rails iseflected by the same weight of workpieces irrespective of their positiontherealong; wherein provision is made for adjustment of the weightrequired to cause downward movement of the rails; and which is equallyoperative irrespective of the direction of flow of workpieces thereover.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a switch actuatingmechanism wherein the upper surface of the operating rail or rails isfor the major portion of its length at all times parallel with thesurface of the runway along which workpieces travel, and wherein undernormal operating conditions the rails extend somewhat above the runwayand when depressed are in horizontal alignment therewith.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a switch actuatingmechanism wherein the opposite extremities of the operating rail orrails are downwardly and outwardly inclined so that they terminate atleast flush with or below the surface of the runway at all times therebypermitting easy passage of workpieces at all times between the runwayand the rail or rails.

With these and other objects and advantages in view which will becomeapparent as the description proceeds, the invention is hereinafterdescribed with the aid of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of the switch actuating mechanism of the presentinvention mounted on a known type of gravity chuting with its operatingrails in their normal raised position;

FIGURES 2 and 3 are views on the lines 2-2 and 33, respectively, ofFIGURE 1, and

FIGURE 4 is a section on the line 44 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a side view of a slight modification of the inventionwherein only a single operating rail is employed and is shown in itsdepressed position;

FIGURE 6 is a view on the line 66 of FIGURE 5, and

FIGURE 7 is a section on the line 7--7 of FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 8 shows another slight modification wherein the switch actuatingmechanism is mounted on a curved portion of a runway.

The switch actuating mechanism of the present invention is shown mountedon a runway 1 which includes outer guide rails 2 between which one ormore carrier rails 3 of lesser height are provided. All the rails arelongitudinally slotted at intervals throughout their length as shown at4 for the passage of bolts 5 on which spacers 6 are mounted to retainthe rails uniformly spaced from one another throughout their length. Thespacing between the guide rails 2 is slightly greater than the axiallength of workpieces A which are to travel along the surface of therunway formed by the upper edge face or faces of the carrier rail orrails 3.

7 denotes a supporting plate which in the present instance is secured tothe runway by bolts 5a which in addition to passing through slots 4 inthe rails 2 and 3 also project outwardly through spacers 8 between therunway and the said plate. Grooved rollers 9 are arranged in opposedpairs and mounted for rotation on bolts 10 which are secured to theplate 7. These rollers act as guides for a slide 11 which is mounted forlimited movement in a substantially vertical direction at right anglesto the path of travel of workpieces along the runway.

In FIGURES 1 to 4, inclusive, and FIGURE 6, two operating rails 12 areshown each mounted for substantially vertical movement between one ofthe guide rails 2 and the carrier rail 3 only one of which is utilizedin this case. In FIGURES 5 to 7, inclusive, only a single operating rail12 is employed which is substantially vertically movable between the twocarrier rails 3. Either arrangement may be employed in cases whererelatively small cylindrical workpieces of short axial length are to behandled. However for larger or longer workpieces a plurality ofoperating rails are usually preferred, and when the invention is appliedto a runway of the type shown a plurality of carrier rails 3 are alsogenerally preferred. It is of course understood that my invention may beused on any form of runway which may. be vertically apertured or slottedwhere required for movement of the operating rail or rails therethrough.

The lower portion of the operating rail or rails 12 is secured to theslide .11 by a plurality of bolts 13 which pass through an open-endedslot 14 formed in the underside of the supporting plate 7 intermediatelyof its width, and have spacers 1 5 thereon to retain the slide and theoperating rail or rails in spaced relation to one another. Some of thebolts 13 are so located relative to the slot 14 that when the slidereaches its upper limit of travel the spacers 15 thereon contact theupper margin of the said slot which then acts as a stop. In theconstruction shown in FIGUR ES 1 to 4 the operating rails 12 areT-shaped in side elevation and have central portions which projectdownwardly between the bolts 5a on which truncated spacers 6a (FIGURE 1)are provided between the rails 2 and 3. These spacers 6a act as stopsbeneath the outward-1y projecting extremities of the Operating rails tolimit the downward movement of the rails "12 and that of the slide 11.

In FIGURES S to 7, inclusive, the opposite lateral margins of theoperating rail 12 are downwardly and inwardly inclined "for the majorportion of their height, and consequently openings 16 of sufficientvertical length are provided through the operating rail for the passageof the bolts 5a and the spacers 6 thereon since the operating rail ismovable substantially vertically while the said bolts and spacers remainstationary. Moreover the openings 16 are preferably so located that thespacers 6 constitute stops to limit the downward movement of theoperating rail and the slide 11 secured thereto.

In both embodiments an arm 18 is pivot-ally mounted at 19 on thesupporting plate 7, and extending through an elongated opening 20 formedthrough the arm adjacent one extremity thereof is a shoulder screw 21which also passes through the slide 11 and has a nut 22 thereon. Thisnut is located in a sufficiently large opening (FIGURE 4) formed throughthe supporting plate 7 to permit pivotal movement of the arm. Means areprovided on the opposite extremity of the arm for normally retaining itin such pivotal position that the slide 11 is at its upper extremity oftravel. In the present instance a threaded rod 23 projects outwardlyfrom the opposite extremity of the arm and parallel therewith on whichat least one internally threaded annular weight 24 is provided so thatthe position of the latter along the rod may be adjusted according tothe weight of wo-rkpiecesand thus the number of them*required upon theoperating rail or rails 12 to move the latter and the slide 11 to theirdownward limit of travel and rotate arm 18 about its axis.

The upper surface of the operating rail or rails 12 is at all timeparallel with the surface of the runway 1, in this case the upper edgeface of the carrier rail or rails 3, throughout the major portion of itslength, but at its extremities the upper surface of the operating railor rails is downwardly and outwardly inclined. When the operating railor rails are in their normal raised position (FIGURE 1) theirintermediate portions are somewhat elevated above the aforesaid surfaceof the runway and at that time their outer extremities terminate atleast flush with or slightly below it to permit easy passage ofworkpieces onto or from the operating nails; and when the latter are inItheir downward position (FIGURE 5) their upper surfaces are inhorizontal alignment with the surface of the runway and theirextremities are below the latter so that workpieces then on theoperating rail or rails are still free to continue their travel onto theportion of the runway ahead as soon as there is room thereon to receivethem.

Mounted on and in the present instance threaded through the arm 18 is aswitch actuating member 2 5 which is adjustably secured in position by alock nut 26 to actuate the operating member 27 of a switch 28 mounted infixed relation to the supporting plate 7 and in the present instancesecured thereon. It is understood that the switch is in a circuitincluding at least one gate, escapement or the like (not shown) which islocated upstream of the operating rail and by which the flow ofworkpieces along the runway is controlled. The switch shown is aconventional micro-switch which is provided with an operating member 27that includes a push rod normally thrust outwardly by spring action.This type of switch is made in two forms, one with the contacts thereinnormally open and the other with the contacts normally closed, andwherein that condition is reversed when and only so long as the flushrod is thrust inwardly and retained in that position. Such a switch inone form or the other is frequently utilized in conjunction with myinvention because its construction is such that only approximately tenone-thousandths of an inch of movement of the push rod is required toopen normally closed contacts or to close normally open ones, and alsoprovision is made therein for overrun of the push rod when movedinwardly. Some of these switches are also made up to include a secondarycircuit including a light bulb 29 mounted thereon for giving a visualsignal so long as the push rod remains in its inwardly thrust position,at which time in my invention the operating rail or rails are in theirdownward position and the normal flow of workpieces along the runway isinterrupted. -As only such slight movement of the operating member 27 isrequired to actuate the switch the operating rail or rails 12 need onlyproject slightly more than one-sixteenth of an inch above the carrierrail or rails 3 when in normal operating position, which is notsufficient to have any appreciable effects upon the flow of workpiecespassing thereover.

FIGURE 8 shows a slight modification wherein the mechanism is to beapplied to a curved portion of a runway. In this instance the operatingrails 12 are made concentric with the guide and carrier rails 2 and 3,respectively, between which they are mounted for vertical movement. Thebolts 5a are held parallel to one another by the use of wedge-shapedwashers 5b on their extremities against the inner guide rail 2 to carrythe same fiat supporting rail 7, and the opposite extremities of thespacers 8 are formed with their opposite end faces not quite parallel toone another if the curvature of the runway is acute.

While in the foregoing the mechanism has been shown in connection withan electric switch, it is of course understood that it is equallyapplicable in cases where the gate, escapement or the like is operatedby fluid pressure in which case it operates a valve mounted in spacedrelation thereto.

I claim:

1. In combination a runway along which workpieces are adapted to travel,a switch actuating mechanism comprising a supporting plate attached tothe runway, an arm pivoted on the supporting plate, at least oneoperating rail normally projecting through and only slightly above thesurface of the runway along which workpieces are adapted to travel so asto not interfere with the travel of workpieces thereover when in saidraised position, means mounted on the supporting plate interposedbetween the operating rail and the arm whereby movement of either therail or the arm imparts movement to the other, means connected to thearm for retaining the operating rail in its raised position until apredetermined plurality of workpieces accumulates thereon whereupon saidrail is depressed into substantial alignment with the runway, and aswitch actuating member associated with the arm for operating a switchmounted in fixed relation to the supporting plate, said interposed meansincluding means whereby the upper surface of the operating rail ismaintained at all times parallel throughout the major portion of itslength with said surface of the runway.

2. In combination a runway along which workpieces are adapted to travel,a switch actuating mechanism comprising a supporting plate attached tothe runway, an arm pivoted on the supporting plate, at least oneoperating ra-il normally projecting through and only slightly above thesurface of the runway along which workpieces are adapted to travel so asto not interfere with the travel of workpieces thereover when in saidraised position, means mounted on the supporting plate interposedbetween the operating rail and the arm whereby movement of either therail or the arm imparts movement to the other, means connected to thearm for retaining the operating rail in its raised position until apredetermined plurality of workpieces accumulates thereon whereupon saidrail is depressed into substantial alignment with the runway, and aswitch actuating member associated with the arm for operating a switchmounted in fixed relation to the supporting plate, both extremities ofthe upper surface of the operating rail being downwardly and outwardlyinclined and terminating at a level below said surface of the runway.

3. In combination a runway along which workpieces are adapted to travel,a switch actuating mechanism comprising a supporting plate attached tothe runway, an arm pivoted on the supporting plate, at least oneoperating rail normally projecting through and only slightly above thesurface of the runway along which workpieces are adapted to travel so asto not interfere with the travel of workpieces thereover when in saidraised position, means mounted on the supporting plate interposedbetween the operating rail and the arm whereby movement of either therail or the arm imparts movement to the other, means connected to thearm for retaining the operating rail in its raised position until apredetermined plurality of workpieces accumulates thereon whereupon saidrail is depressed into substantial alignment with the runway, and aswitch actuating member associated with the arm for operating a switchmounted in fixed relation to the supporting plate, the interposed meansincluding a slide mounted for movement on the supporting plate, both theoperating rail and the arm being connected thereto.

4. The combination in claim 3, wherein the slide is mounted for straightline movement on the supporting plate, and the operating rail is securedto the slide for movement therewithin and spaced therefrom.

5. In combination a longitudinally curved runway having an aperturedsurface along which workpieces are adapted to travel, a switch actuatingmechanism comprising a supporting plate attached to the runway along theapertured surface thereof, a slide mounted on the supporting plate forsubstantially vertical movement, at least one operating rail curvedconcentrically with the runway for vertical movement therethrough, saidoperating rail being secured to the slide for movement therewith andhaving its upper surface intermediately of its length parallel at alltimes with the surface of the runway, an arm pivoted on the supportingplate and connected to the slide, means on the arm adapted to retain theslide and operating rail at their raised positions such that the uppersurface of the operating rail projects above the surface of the runwayuntil a predetermined weight load accumulates upon the rail whereuponsaid rail is depressed into substantial alignment with the runway, meansfor limiting the travel of the slide, and a switch actuating memberassociated with the arm for operating a switch mounted in fixed relationto the supporting plate.

6. The combination in claim 5, wherein the opposite extremities of theoperating rail are downwardly and outwardly inclined.

7. In combination a runway having an apertured surface along whichworkpieces are adapted to travel, a switch actuating mechanism includinga supporting plate attached to the runway, a slide mounted forsubstantially vertical movement on the supporting plate, spaced paralleloperating rails secured to and spaced from the slide for movementtherewith, said rails being adapted to move substantially verticallythrough the surface of the runway and project above it, the uppersurfaces of the operating rails being at all times parallel with thesaid surface of the runway intermediately of their length and theirouter extremities being downwardly and outwardly inclined, an armpivoted on the supporting plate and connected to the slide, adjustablemeans on the arm for retaining the operating rails so positioned thatthey project above the surface of the runway until a predeterminedweight load has accumulated thereon whereupon said rails are depressedinto substantial alignment with the surface of the runway, means forlimiting the movement of the slide, and a switch actuating memberassociated with the arm for operating a switch mounted in fixed relationto the supporting plate.

8. In combination, a runway having means defining a workpiece supportingsurface, a support mounted on the runway, a slide member guided forrectilinear movement on said support member in a generally verticalpath, said workpiece supporting surface of the runway being apertured ina direction longitudinally of the runway, a rail member fixed to saidslide member and adapted to project upwardly through the aperture insaid supporting surface, means normally biasing the slide member to aposition wherein the rail member projects slightly above the workpiecesupporting surface of the runway and switch means actuated by the slidemember when the latter moves downwardly from the position to which it isnormally biased in response to the weight of the workpiece resting onthe rail member.

9. The combination called for in claim '8 wherein the rail memberextends lengthwise of the runway and has its upper edge extendinggenerally parallel to said supporting surface for a major portion of itslength, said upper edge of the rail member tapering into the plane ofsaid supporting surface at the upstream end of the rail member.

10. The combination called for in claim 8 wherein said biasing meansincludes an arm having a fixed pivotal connection with said supportmember and a sliding pivotal connection with said slide member spacedlengthwise of the runway from said fixed pivotal connection, said switchmeans comprising a microswitch having an operating member adapted to beengaged by said arm to actuate the switch means.

11. The combination called for in claim 10 wherein the arm includes ascrew adapted to engage the operating member, said screw beingadjustable to vary the position of the slide member at which themicroswitch is actuated.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,799,106'3/193'1 Laxo. 1,916,255 7/ 1933 Cabot. 1,963,083 6/1934 'Fink et al.2,037,931 4/ 1936 Schmidt.

BERNARD A. GILHEANY, Primary Examiner.

I. I. BAKER, Assistant Examiner,

1. IN COMBINATION A RUNWAY ALONG WHICH WORKPIECES ARE ADAPTED TO TRAVEL, A SWITCH ACUATING MECHANISM COMPRISING A SUPPORTING PLATE ATTACHED TO THE RUNWAY, AN ARM PIVOTED ON THE SUPPORTING PLATE, AT LEAST ONE OPERATING RAIL NORMALLY PROJECTING THROUGH AND ONLY SLIGHTLY ABOVE THE SURFACE OF THE RUNWAY ALONG WHICH WORKPIECES ARE ADAPTED TO TRAVEL SO AS TO NOT INTERFERE WITH THE TRAVEL OF WORKPIECES THEREOVER WHEN IN SAID RAISED POSITION, MEANS MOUNTED ON THE SUPPORTING PLATE INTERPOSED BETWEEN THE OPERATING RAIL AND THE ARM WHEREBY MOVEMENT OF EITHER THE RAIL OR THE ARM IMPARTS MOVEMENT TO THE OTHER, MEANS CONNECTED TO THE ARM FOR RETAINING THE OPERATING RAIL IN ITS RAISED POSITION UNTIL A PREDETERMINED PLURALITY OF WORKPIECES ACCUMULATES THEREON WHEREUPON SAID RAIL IS DEPRESSED INTO SUBSTANTIAL ALIGNMENT WITH THE RUNWAY, AND A SWITCH ACTUATING MEMBER ASSOCIATED WITH THE ARM FOR OPERATING A SWITCH MOUNTED IN FIXED RELATION TO THE SUPPORTING PLATE, SAID INTERPOSED MEANS INCLUDING MEANS WHEREBY THE UPPER SURFACE OF THE OPERATING RAIL IS MAINTAINED AT ALL TIMES PARALLEL THROUGHOUT THE MAJOR PORTION OF ITS LENGTH WITH SAID SURFACE OF THE RUNWAY. 